Family Travel: The Sailor Circus in Sarasota Florida

Posted on Jun 3, 2017 | 0 comments

Lately, I have been sharing all about our multigenerational family vacation to Sarasota Florida. We had such a great time there!

One of the most spectacular things we did while in Sarasota was to attend The Sailor Circus. In my post on The Ringling Museum, I explained how Sarasota has a rich history in the circus arts. It is not only a place for people to come and see and learn about everything circus, but it is also an internationally recognized training ground for circus performers. And they start young!!!

What is The Sailor Circus?

The Sailor Circus is the oldest youth circus known as “The Greatest ‘Little’ Show on Earth”. Children from the Sailor Circus academy learn the circus arts with a rigorous school program. The performers are ages 10-18. They train hard and put on 2 annual performances: during the winter holiday break and during spring break – the shows runs every day for about a week each time and if you are in town during either, you must go see it! You can get tickets and check their schedule here.

The Sailor Academy began in 1949 as a small gymnastics class. Since then it has grown into one of the top circus schools serving students from 4^th-12^th grades. Additionally, they have a fantastic (I’m told) summer camp that you can enroll your kids in for a day, a week or a month – however much time you are able. It would be so much fun to let your kids check it out for a day if you Visit Sarasota in the summer!

Our Night at The Sailor Circus

I was so excited to go, this is the perfect activity when you are on a multigenerational trip as the circus fascinates people of all ages!

We arrived to find it really was like the circus with clowns walking around, face painting, popcorn and cotton candy for sale and performers walking around in incredible costumes. The kids loved it and my parents had a blast. Of course, the kids had to have their faces painted!

We entered the big top, found our seats and excitedly awaited the show to start.

There are no words to describe how brilliant these child performers are. From acrobatics, to tight rope walking/biking, to breathtaking aerial performances, we all sat in awe for almost 3 hours!! It was unbelievable that these kids could do all that they did. Check out these kids!

I felt like I was watching the pros at Cirque Du Soleil. The Sailor Circus kids are that good. If we are ever there in the summer, I am definitely signing my kids up for at least a day at their camp!! There was so much comradery, team work and fun that you really felt a part of while you were watching the show!

If you ask my kids, they will tell you this was one of the highlights of our trip to Sarasota. And as a mom, seeing my children and my parents together having such a good time made it a highlight for me as well. A special thanks to Visit Sarasota for sponsoring this post.

I can’t wait to go back!

Cheers and safe travels!

Malibu Mama Loves Xxx

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